Sydney Sweeney's controversial ad campaign draws Trump's attention, he says 'advertising a very funny thing'

Economic Times

2 days ago

AP
US President Donald Trump was asked about the Sydney Sweeney's American Eagle's ad by Newsmax anchor Rob Finnerty
The ongoing controversy surrounding Sydney Sweeney's American Eagle ad has garnered a lot of attention online. Sweeney, 27, and American Eagle faced backlash earlier this week after the blonde-haired, blue-eyed 'White Lotus' starlet appeared in a new denim ad for the popular clothing and accessories retailer. It sparked a debate over race and Western beauty standards.US President Donald Trump was asked about the Sydney Sweeney's American Eagle's ad by Newsmax anchor Rob Finnerty. Trump was asked about the highly contested advertisement in a bizarre question that ended with the president going on a rant about transgender actress Dylan Mulvaney and his own experience with advertising, reports The Irish Star.
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"Your administration has been very open about the fact that American women are not having enough babies," the Newsmax anchor began his perplexing line of questioning. "There was an ad this week. Sydney Sweeney, an actress, was in an ad for Blue Jeans. The ad is doing very well. It's very popular. The jeans are sold out," he went on before asking, "Does America need to see more ads like that? And maybe fewer ads with people like Dylan Mulvaney on the cover?"
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Trump took the bait and went on a rant about the Bud Light campaign. He said, "The Dylan Mulvaney ad was perhaps the most unsuccessful ad in history. It knocked 35 million dollars off the value of a certain company. You know what I'm talking about. That was one of the great disasters of all time. I would say it was probably the most unsuccessful ad, worst ad ever."
He continued, "You know, advertising is a very funny thing. I've done ads where I thought they were lousy and they turned out to be iconic, and then I've done some that I thought were beauties that were gonna be fantastic, and they weren't so good, so to each his own. But the Dylan Mulvaney ad was a total disaster." The Newsmax anchor paired the question with an onscreen banner that read, "Trump ends the era of woke."ALSO READ: 'Rage Against The Regime' protests: Over 300 US cities hosting anti-Trump demonstrations today on JD Vance's birthday. Full list
American Eagle is standing by its controversial ad campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney, which includes various commercials with the tagline: 'Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans.' The campaign has been criticized for promoting eugenics with its tagline, "Sydney Sweeney has good jeans," which many interpreted as a white supremacist dog whistle.
''Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans' is and always was about the jeans,' the company said Friday in a statement obtained by The Post. 'Her jeans. Her story.' 'We'll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way,' the statement continued. 'Great jeans look good on everyone.''I have great jeans… now you can too,' the 'Euphoria' actress wrote on Instagram on July 23, alongside a video for the controversial campaign. But some social media users compared the marketing move to "Nazi propaganda".
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'I thought it was gonna be, like, kinda bad, but wow,' one critic wrote on TikTok. 'That's gonna be in history books!'
'I will be the friend that's too woke, but those Sydney Sweeney American Eagle ads are weird,' another added. 'Like, fascist weird. Like Nazi propaganda weird.' Singers Lizzo, 37, and Doja Cat, 29, also took to social media to ridicule Sweeney and American Eagle over the controversy. 'My jeans are black…' the 'Truth Hurts' singer wrote alongside a digitally altered picture showing herself in the denim shirt and jeans that Sweeney wore for the American Eagle photo shoot. Doja Cat shared a TikTok video of herself repeating Sweeney's American Eagle campaign monologue with an exaggerated accent. American Eagle appeared to distance itself from the 'Nazi propaganda' backlash by sharing other ads from the campaign that did not feature Sweeney.'Denim on denim on denim… on denim,' the company wrote alongside the new ad on July 27. 'AE has great jeans.' Plus, American Eagle's stock rose more than 10% immediately after the new campaign kicked off on July 23.